1 Some people enjoy art. Some people enjoy science. Some enjoy both! Some of these people find their talents in these areas lead them to a very unique career in plastic surgery. In fact, a plastic surgeon is sometimes described as an artist who works with flesh.2 A plastic surgeon requires an extensive amount of education and training. Usually, the plastic surgeon must be comfortable with science and do well with biology, chemistry, and physics in high school. He (or she) needs to complete his bachelor's degree in college and his medical school degree. Then he needs to complete a long and difficult plastic surgery residency (3 to 5 years in general surgery followed by 2 to 3 years in plastic surgery). Finally, the doctor must successfully pass exams to be board certified. He might even need more training for expertise in subspecialties. All in all, the training past high school can take 16 years! As a result of this training, plastic surgeons usually earn a great deal of money.3 Besides the formal education and training, a plastic surgeon has to possess certain individual skills as well. She (or he) must have good judgment. She must have good technical expertise in her steady hands. She must have a sense of ethics. She needs good interpersonal skills to work with patients.